Liberals shut out senators from summer strategy meeting

As Liberal parliamentarians gather in Edmonton for their summer caucus, for the first time there will be no senators present.

As a result, some parts of the country won’t be represented at the party’s key caucus meeting.

The former Liberal senators — who are now independent of the caucus although they call themselves “Senate Liberals” — will instead hold their own meeting in September to plot a course for the rest of the year.

Once, “we were full participants” at Liberal party caucus meetings, said Sen. James Cowan, the Senate Liberal leader in the upper chamber. “We’re not going to be that anymore.”

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau turfed senators from the national caucus in January, severing formal ties with the upper chamber. The move caught many of his senators by surprise and some are still angry at the way they were punted without any warning.

“I think it was a good idea to separate the caucuses,” Cowan said. But, he added, “From a personal point of view, I miss those relationships.”

Cowan said that what’s lost without senators at national caucus is a different perspective on issues. Also missing will be voices from parts of the country where the Liberals either have no representation, such as Alberta, or have a lone MP, such as New Brunswick.

“Who is speaking for Alberta in the Liberal caucus?” Cowan said. That role used to be filled by senators Claudette Tardif and Grant Mitchell. In New Brunswick, the Senate offered four Liberal members in the past.

In a federal byelection in June, the Conservatives held on to the riding of Fort McMurray-Athabaska but the Liberal candidate showed some strength in the race. The Liberals have been hoping to make inroads in the province as the 2015 election approaches.

Cowan said the Senate Liberal caucus will meet on the Monday Parliament returns, Sept. 15.